Pastor's Diary May 2015

____Pastor's Diary____

Hello {FIRST_NAME|friends}, It's been a long time since I did a Pastor's Diary entry. Thank you for the birthday wishes and the song and flowers yesterday. It was a nice quiet day. As some of you know, I was sick most of last week. It seems I can't fight things off lately. But I am better now and will be back to visiting and having apointments on Wednesday. (I'm not sharing my cold) The above picture is from my last haircut. My friend and almost-daughter, Katie is a professional and manager of the PR Partners in Gainesville. It is a joy to see her every 6 weeks for a cut. She and Melody grew up together. Lately Fitz and I have been enjoying some extra time with Melody and James' puppy, Bowser. We call him a 'grand-pup'.   Our dogs have finally gotten used to him and they can play (or more often ignore each other) in the back yard. We were able to walk all three of them at Upton Park yesterday when we returned from the "lunch bunch" after worship. I was reading some devotional material this morning and want to share this message from Reuben Job with you. His writing is always insightful. When I look out my window to the sky and trees each morning, sit in prayer, and read, I find his words touch my spirit. Perhaps they will yours too. "Have you ever been extremely thirsty? If you have, you know how wonderful and refreshing cool water can be. When the Samaritan woman encountered Jesus, she was searching for that which would quench her body's thrist. In the presence of Jesus she recognized a deeper thirst, the thirst for God. (John chapter 4)  The Thirst for God is universal because we have been created with a longing for the Creator. this desire to know and be known by the One who made us and loves us is often ignored, denied, and finally buried under a multitude of pursuits and interests. But then some event in life invites or forces us to pause, and the desire for God comes rushing back to our awareness. We know for certain that we need living water; we need what only God can give if we are really to live. Today Jesus continues to offer living water, a way, and a companionship that can quench our thirst for God. Our part is to recognize the deep need for God within us and to offer hospitality to the One who seeks to fill and satisy that need. Like the psalmist, our souls thirst for God. The good news we share is that through Jesus the Christ our thirst can be satisfied." Rueben P. Job in A Guide to Prayer for All Who Walk with God. (Nashville:Upper Room Books, 2013)194-5 I feel my thirst for God when I slow down enough to realize I've filled life with business, not living water. Those moments in the morning help fill me. What helps quench your thirst for God? Can I help you find a way? This month we will study the Sermon on the Mount under the them of Turning Our Eyes On Jesus. I hope examining the instructions for living the "Jesus' Way" found in his sermon will also prompt us to recall WHY we choose to live his way. With our eyes Turned On Jesus this month, I trust we will drink deeply of living water. Pastor Nancy I try to post these messages on my blog and the church website. Link to my blog If you miss us, you can always catch up here on the web, Link to our website. I also change the pictures on the web and the church facebook page. We do try to post sermons either written or audio and sometimes both.